Corn pad



Patented Mar. 31, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CORN PAD William M. Scholl, Chicago, 111.

Application July 28, 1949, Serial No. 107,317

1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to improvements in a corn, bunion, callous pad or the like, and more particularly to a surgical pad for adhesive securement to the human body highly desirable for the relief and treatment of corns, bunions, calli, and other afflictions, although the pad will have other and further uses as will be apparent to one skilled in the art.

In the past, many and various types of surgical pads have been developed, and many of these were especially designed for application to the human foot to relieve such ailments as corns, bunions, and calli. These formerly known pads and the like, however, were not always as light and as waterproof as desired. Further, they were also not always air tight, and in many cases certain afflictions, such as some corns or calli, respond better to treatment and are more easily removed if air is shut off from the affliction during treatment. In addition, pads of this type heretofore known most frequently had a cover of completely different material from the body or cushioning part of the pad, and so that cover more easily tended to drag upon the stocking or other clothing of the user, thus causing a tendency of the layers of the pad to separate or the pad to loosen from the body.

With the above thoughts in mind, it is an important object of the instant invention to provide a soft, flexible, smooth light weight surgical pad including waterproof adhesive, the body portion of the pad being made in thickness, sizes, and shape for all requirements.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a surgical pad of the character set forth herein in which the body portion of the pad is made of foam latex with a central opening for the reception of the afiiiction, and an air tight cover portion over that opening to seal ofi the affliction from ambient air.

Also a feature of the invention is the provision of a, surgical pad for adhesive application to the body, the cushioning part of the pad being covered with a relatively thin latex skin of extremely smooth character to prevent dragging or frictional engagement of this skin with the stocking or other item of apparel of the user.

It is still a, further feature of this invention to provide a surgical pad including a foam latex body portion of desirable thickness and provided with an opening for the reception of the afiiiction, the body portion of the pad being covered by a relatively thin latex skin rendering the opening air tight after application to the body.

Broadly, it is an object of this invention to provide a surgical pad of the character set forth herein having :a cushion body part and a cover part overlying that body part, both said parts being formed of the same general waterproof substance.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a surgical pad embodying a foam latex cushioning body part, with a smooth latex skin covering that body part so as to prevent drag upon wearing material, and with a suitable fabric carrying an attaching adhesive on the opposite side of the body portion.

While some of the more salient features, characteristics and advantages of the instant invention have been above pointed out, others will become apparent from the following disclosures, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a bottom plan view of a surgical pad embodying principles of the instant invention;

Figure 2 is a central vertical sectional view through the pad of Fig. 1 taken substantially as indicated by the lines 11-11 of Fig, 1, looking in the direction of the arrows, and showing the pad in inverted position; and

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the structure of Figs. 1 and 2.

As shown on the drawings:

In the illustrated embodiment of this inven tion there is shown a pad of generally oval contour, of the type that might readily be used for the treatment of corns, calli, bunions, and the like. The illustrated pad includes a body portion 5 of cushioning material, preferably foam latex of the intercommunicating cellular type. Such a material is highly resilient, and when pressure is removed immediately assumes its original shape and size. This body portion may be of any desirable thickness, depending upon the particular affliction, practical thicknesses being 1 3', and inch for most aiilictions. An opening is provided in the body 5 for the reception of a particular afiiiction, and in the illustrated instance, a central opening -6 is shown.

0n the underside of the body portion a strip of fabric overlies the face of the body part and is secured thereto in any suitable manner, such as by cement or vulcanization. A fabric layer 7 i preferably a thin muslin sheeting, and to the outer face of this piece of fabric an adhesive coating 8 is provided, preferably of a waterproof and pressure sensitive type. The fabric layer I obviously is centrally apertured in keeping with the size of the opening 6 in the body part.

On the opposite face of the cushioning body part 5, is a cover 9 which is preferably a very thin latex skin which in most cases will be substantially transparent, and is in and of itself inherently yieldable in any direction. This skin is extremely smooth on its outer surface to prevent dragging of the stocking or other article of apparel when drawn on over the pad and is not only waterproof, but also air tight. The thinness of the skin and its close association with the foam latex body portion of the pad, coupled with the extreme flexibility of both the body part and the cover 9, all discourage any tendency of the pad to adhere or drag or frictionally or otherwise engage with an article of apparel when that article is drawn on the body over the; applied pad. Thus there is no tendency to separate the layers of the pad, or to loosen the adhesive application of the pad to the body.

The latex skin cover 9 may be applied by a dipping process, vulcanization, or in any other suitable manner.

An important object of this latex skin is to render the portion inside the opening 6' not only waterproof but air tight when the pad is applied to the body. Thus, the afiliction is maintained sealed oil from ambient air, and the natural warmth and moisture around that affliction is effectively retained, so that after reasonable application of the pad a maceration of the horny layers of tissue around a corn or callous will occur and that com or callous may be readily and easily removed. With many corns, calli, and the like, the exclusion of air together with the removal of pressure hastens the time of removal and makes the removal far more easily accomplished.

The entire pad, as will be noted, is extremely light in weight by virtue of its constituent ele- 4 ments, economical to manufacture and use, and very simple to apply. Because the pad is both airproof and water tight, it is obviously long lived, and may be used in a single application for several weeks at a time, retaining its efiicacy during that relatively long period.

It will be understood that modifications and variations may be effected without departing from the scope of the novel concepts of the present invention.

I claim as my invention:

As an article of manufacture, a surgical pad comprising a body part of foam latex having an opening therein to receive an afiliction, a thin air-impervious latex skin over the top of said pad and over said opening, said skin being in and of itself yieldable in any direction over said opening, and said body carrying an adhesive undersurface to attach the pad to the body of a user.

WILLIAM M. SCHOLL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 876,022 Schiffhauer Jan. 7, 1908 1,963,474 Scholl June 19, 1934 2,125,008 Scholl July 26, 1938 2,134,831 Moon Nov. 1, 1938 2,341,818 Schellings Feb. 15, 1944 2,495,028 Spanel Jan. 17. 1950 I FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 397,700 Great Britain Aug; 31, 1933 

